The Islanders face the Calgary Flames at the Coliseum tonight, a matchup of two teams who rarely see each other because the collective smell is too funky, like a late-August embrace among Phish fans.
Some advanced reading:
- Now that the Isles' 30th-ranked penalty kill finally won them a game, how about that power play taking a turn? [Newsday]
- LHH analysis posts from yesterday: Chris on why Andrew MacDonald could fetch decent trade return, garik16 on why Brock Nelson is THE BEST REVEREND.
- More snow could mess with the timing of NHLers traveling to Sochi. Also, here is how the NHLers will travel to Sochi. [Sporting News]
- The game-winning (and only) goal from the Isles 1-0 win over the Caps, broken down from the Caps' fan perspective. [Japers' Rink]
- Maybe the daily dose of "why Thomas Vanek isn't signing" stories will end here, but he's so darn up front about it that I'm sure it's hard not to milk it. [Post] "They’re definitely a team I would like to look again in the summer, but for me, being a little selfish I guess, I just want to hit [free agency] once."
- Andrew MacDonald shatters dreams, Capitals goaltenders and Iceworks glass
- NHL Revealed segments on "forgotten foot soldiers," including John Tavares' father (third video).
- Where do the Isles rank in terms of amount of time spent leading games? Not high, not high at all. [Extra Skater]
- Copper & Blue power rankings: "Garth Snow wasted playoff contention, at the very least, on Evgeni Nabokov." (Ed. note: And his backups!)
- FIG Picks: You who compete may leave your First Islanders Goal picks for tonight over here.
Elsewhere
- Last night's scores. Pittsburgh pounded Buffalo.
- Speaking of which, man, Ryan Miller doesn't know what's up with his future. [NHL]
- Sportsnet outlines what it will do with ALL THE HOCKEY, including a claimed 400% increase in live game coverage in Canada. "If you don't like the Wednesday game in your country for the next dozen years, you may need something else to do." [Awful Announcing]
- Dave Lozo with a timely reminder about the who and the what and the why behind trade rumors and contract negotiation leaks. [B/R]
- The odds are against it, but in the name of Nino, Martin Erat is chasing history. [SB Nation]
- Elliotte Friedman with some hot 30 Thoughts action. [CBC]
- The 10 Greatest NHL Olympians. Also known as Jagr, Hasek and some other guys. [Grantland]
- Toughness! Habs bought into a myth when they dealt Diaz - Sportsnet.ca
- On that note, your periodic outline of how certain stats (plus/minus anyone?) are misused. [Broad Street Hockey]
- And MOAR stats! "Hopefully you can see the strength of the pull of PDO’s 1000 average. It’s so strong that it really keeps us from labeling any more than maybe 5-7% of the last 300 team performances (just under one team a year) as indicative of anything that might be called PDO "talent."' [Hockey-Graphs]
Moment of Frans
Well check this out then:
What's this? Explanation here.